An Affiliate marketing program is an on-line marketing practice in which your business rewards affiliates for each customer/client brought about by the affiliate’s marketing efforts. The affiliate’s website directs the client to your website through encoded links, the client then purchases your product or service and the affiliate receives a commission. Essentially, your affiliates are the on-line salesmen for your business!
Through this type of marketing force, your affiliate promotes your site for free. You pay a commission only when a sale is made. Your affiliates generate lots of traffic to your website, giving your website better search engine placement. The more affiliate sites that point to your domain, the higher your search engine placement. Even if visitors don’t purchase your service, they may subscribe to your e-zine and bookmark your site.
An affiliate program is an automated advertising campaign for your business that offers an efficient trackable, marketing network. With the right affiliate tracking software, sales, sales reports, visitors and visitor registrations are tracked and processed automatically. Your product or service is promoted 24/7.
A multi-tier affiliate program, that distributes commission into a hierarchical referral network of sign-ups and sub-partners, can be your viral marketing strategy with unlimited growth potential. With a multi-tier program, your affiliates earn money on affiliates who sign up under them. This encourages your automatic sales reps. to recruit even more affiliates!
For implementation and management of your affiliate program, you have two options. You may use standalone software or you may use hosted services, typically called affiliate networks. When setting up an affiliate program, there are several things to consider, such as the payout, payment threshold, payment types and your affiliate program’s terms and conditions. Having a controlled affiliate program is key in avoiding corrupt affiliates, who use spamming, trademark infringement and false advertising and other unethical methods.
For an effective affiliate program, you need to help your new sales force to actually promote your offer effectively. Have an ongoing commitment to work with your affiliate partners to ensure high quality targeted visitors are referred to your site. The goal is to develop long term, profitable relationships. Take the time to communicate with your affiliates to ensure that every part of the process is implemented correctly. When you dedicate consistent time and effort to the planning and management of your program, you will secure a powerful and profitable sales channel for your business!
Donna Toothaker is founder of www.1stVA.com, the highly sought-after company that works with the top nutrition and fitness professionals in the country. 1st VA specializes in providing online marketing support and services to professional coaches and speakers who wish to effectively build or improve their online presence. To discover how 1st VA can help your business – visit http://www.1stva.com.
